Marché Bonsecours

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Buildings

Old Montréal and Old Port

Recognized as one of the ten most beautiful heritage buildings in Canada, the Marché Bonsecours is a bustling marketplace that showcases Québec artists, designers and artisans. A symbol of Montréal’s heyday, this imposing building was the city’s main agricultural market for over a century. Now it houses 15 boutiques, including the Conseil des métiers d'art du Québec (Québec's Craft Council), cafés serving local products, event venues and exhibitions.

Inaugurated in 1847, the Marché housed a concert hall and even served as City Hall. Its symmetrical composition and Greek Revival portico with cast-iron columns from England, silver dome and simple and varied details make it a perfect illustration of the neo-classical style in favour at the time.

Even before the Marché was built, its location was a hub for the colony’s social and cultural activities in New France, before and after the Conquest. John Molson Senior, a pioneering merchant who introduced steam navigation to the St. Lawrence River, owned the land from 1815 to 1844. His son, John Molson Junior, sold the land back to the city so that they could build the market. Since then, the Marché Bonsecours continues to be a commercial mainstay and an important part of Montréal’s history.